Easter Eggs for Games in Windows XP

Everyone enjoys a good game on occasion to help unwind and relax. Windows XP comes with several games already installed to help the user have a little fun time. What most users do not realize that the games have “Easter Eggs” or secrets built into the game that make playing or winning the game easier – some
let you win without any work – no cheating!

Listed below are some common Easter Eggs for some of the games in Windows XP – happy gaming!

FreeCell

Win Instantly
While playing the game press Ctrl + Shift + F10 when prompted select Abort and then move any card – you will win the game instantly.

Hidden Game
From the game menu click Select Game – when the dialog prompts for game number enter -1 or -2 to play either hidden game.

Solitaire

Win Instantly
While playing the game press Alt + Shift +2 to win instantly.

Draw a Single Card in a Draw Three Game
While drawing a new card hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift – one card will be drawn from the deck instead of three.

Minesweeper

Reveal Mines
Before starting Minesweeper close or minimize all applications running on the computer. Next start Minesweeper and type xyzzt and then hold down shift key for one second. If done correctly a white pixel should appear in the upper left corner of your desktop when moving the cursor over a Minesweeper square. When this pixel changes to black it means there is a mine under the square!

Hint
If you are having a problem seeing the pixel you might need to change your background color to a solid color.

Pinball

Extra Balls
At the start of a new ball type 1max to get extra balls.

Gravity Well
To activate the gravity well type gmax at the beginning of the game.

Instant Promotion
To increase in rank type rmax at beginning of game.

Skill Shot
When launching the ball up the chute pass the yellow bars to earn extra points – trick is to pass the bar and have the ball come back. Below are the points for each bar.

15,000 points

30,000 points

75,000 points

30,000 points

15,000 points

7,500 points

Activate Test Mode
At the start of a new ball type hidden test to activate the Test Mode for the game. There is no notification that the mode is active but you will now be able to left-click on the ball and move it around.

Also while in Test Mode there are additional secrets that can be activated by pressing certain keys – they are listed below.

H - Obtain 1,000,000,000 high score
M - Displays system memory
R -Increase rank in game
Y - Displays the frames per second

Unlimited Balls

To get unlimited balls type bmax when a starting a new ball. If this is activated no other secrets or shortcuts can be activated without restarting the game.